You do not choose the mortgage insurer and also you can't discuss the costs. Simply put, when refinancing a house or acquiring with a standard mortgage, if the loan-to-value (LTV) is more than 80% (or equivalently, the equity position is less than 20%), the consumer will likely be required to carry private home mortgage insurance coverage. It sounds unAmerican, yet that's what happens when you obtain a home loan that exceeds 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV).